A ferocious, restless energy characterizes Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34. It’s music which is constantly developing and evolving from the smallest motivic seed. At first Brahms wrestled to find the right instrumentation. The music started out as a string quartet, developed into a sonata for two pianos and then, on the recommendation of Clara Schumann, found its true form as a marriage of piano and strings. This evolution is similar to …
Last month I invited you to Join The Listeners’ Club and explore some of my favorite music. Now, in Part 2, we’ll examine these pieces more closely. Here are some of my thoughts about what makes this music so great. Enjoy the discussion and then go back and listen again. Use the comment thread below to tell me what you hear. What inspires you? What are your favorite parts and why? …
Welcome to The Listeners’ Club! This month I’m excited to launch the first installment of what will become a regular feature of this blog. My goal is to help you develop a fun, meaningful, life long relationship with some great music that you might not otherwise get to know. We’ll explore music that people of all ages will enjoy. Along the way I’ll share some of my thoughts on what makes this music …